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Microsoft Explains SkyDrive Integration in Windows 8.1

As noted previously, this is arguably the marquee new feature in this release

Microsoft has integrated SkyDrive more deeply into the core OS with the Windows 8.1 update for Windows 8 and RT. And this change means seamless connectivity to your cloud-based files from both the desktop and the new “Metro” mobile environment, meaning that the combination of Windows and SkyDrive is more powerful than ever, and more potent than what’s available on other platforms.

This wasn’t always the case. In the initial release of Windows 8/RT, SkyDrive integration basically meant online-only access to your files through a Metro-style app, as is available on platforms like Windows Phone, iOS (iPad, iPhone) and Android. (In addition to unrelated SkyDrive-based settings sync functionality that is unique to Windows 8/RT.) Windows 8 users (but not Windows RT users) could gain offline capabilities by installing the free SkyDrive desktop application.

But with Windows 8.1, Windows 8/RT are picking up additional SkyDrive integration.

I previously wrote two articles about the SkyDrive changes in Windows 8.1. The first, Hands-On with Windows 8.1: SkyDrive Integration, explains how SkyDrive is being more tightly linked the underlying OS, a huge benefit for all Windows users, but in particular for Windows RT users, given the original offline capability limitations. The second, Hands-On with Windows 8.1: SkyDrive App, discusses improvements to the Metro-style SkyDrive app, including new file system browsing capabilities.

I’m embarrassed to admit I missed a key new feature in that app (though in my defense I do tend to stick to the desktop environment): In Windows 8.1, you can make SkyDrive-based files available for offline use right from the app. You don’t have to do so from the desktop.

Placeholder files. When you agree to integrate SkyDrive with Windows 8/RT during Windows 8.1 Setup (or later, via PC Settings), you’re given “access to all your SkyDrive files without actually downloading them, using precious local disk space and Internet bandwidth.” This happens courtesy of a special, new kind of shortcut called placeholder files. They “look and feel like normal folders and files. You can tap or click a folder and see all the folders and files inside it. You can tap or click a file and it will open, you can edit it and close it. You can move, delete, copy, or rename placeholder files just like you would any folder or file. But [Windows] only downloads the full file when you access it.” The advantage? Huge space savings: 100 GB of used space in SkyDrive can take up less than 5 GB on the local disk, for example.

Smart thumbnails. Because of the special needs of photos, the placeholder for this type of file is a bit different. “When you flip through photos, [Windows] downloads large thumbnail images instead of the actual files. And [Windows] pre-fetches thumbnails to enable fast scrolling. It’s only when you want to edit a photo that [Windows] downloads the full file to the local disk.”

Offline access. I noted previously that you could right-click on SkyDrive-based files and folders from File Explorer and choose “Make available offline” from the pop-up menu that appears. But this works from the SkyDrive app too, so tablet users and others that wish to avoid the desktop never need to leave Metro to access this functionality.

Also, Windows “always marks files for offline access if you’ve opened or edited them on this device before. [Windows does] that because most people tend to open the same files they recently opened, but the files they open often vary across different devices – so [it] remembers those files and makes this unique to the device you’re using.” You can also choose to have your entire SkyDrive available for offline access, of course.

File open and save. SkyDrive is built into the Metro-based File Picker experience as well as File Open and File Save on the desktop side, so you will be able to access your SkyDrive-based files, and save to SkyDrive, from any Metro app or desktop application.

Search. SkyDrive is also built into the new Smart Search experience in Windows 8.1, and SkyDrive files show up in search results just like your local files.

All in all, some great functionality here, and while you can certainly access your SkyDrive data using other platforms, only Windows 8 and RT with the Windows 8.1 update provide this level of deep OS integration.

The ability to "access my files" on any remote linked PC/Device is also very useful.

But I'd really like them to add in the "remote desktop" that used to be part of "Live Mesh", allowing me to easily remote to any linked PC from wherever I am, on whatever device I'm on. That would be an absolutely slick, killer feature, imho.

Do you know what will happen to our online/offline file settings when we upgrade from Windows 8 to 8.1? I have a pretty complicated setup right now and I hope that the access settings are honored during the upgrade.

Also, do you think we'll ever get multiple folder synchronization like we had in Live Mesh? I still have a problem because I'd like to sync files on my portable hard drive AND my internal SSD. With a single "SkyDrive" folder, I still can't do that.

I've noticed how a lot of the new or updated apps in Windows 8.1 RT support SkyDrive as a file save/open location. But they don't have any way to support SkyDrive Pro, even though I have that installed and configured. Case in point, I wanted to change my Surface RT's wallpaper. I could browse for a photo from SkyDrive, but the image I wanted to use was located in my SkyDrive Pro account. There was no option in the PC Settings to browse to that location. I had to save the image I wanted to use to my local storage and then I was able to use it.

Personally, I think Microsoft's making a mess of the SkyDrive vs. SkyDrive Pro stuff. I want to use SkyDrive for my personal files, and SkyDrive Pro for my work files, and be able to access both equally depending on what I'm doing. Is that so hard Microsoft?

I spent 3 days trying to get the 8.1 preview to work. What a mess. Never worked reliably. It is very unlike me to give up and I do love trying new stuff but 8.1 preview was just too much. WTF is this to wait for weeks before giving us information on the changes. Is this A PREVIEW of what upgrading to 8.1 is going to be like when it happens for real.
Sure it's nice for Paul to gives us the info he has but damn I didn't buy Win 8 from Paul. When is MS going to start supporting the stuff they sell? Tell us up front how stuff works. And for god sake stop using The Windows Store for downloading big stuff like Win 8 and Win 8.1. I tried numerous time to download 8 and 8.1 from The Store. And could never get it to work... and before you think I have a bad internet connection, once 8.1 was available in ISO format with checksum it worked the first time without a blip and checksum was good. It didn't install worth a crap but that's another story.

Wake up MS. I've been defending you for years but enough is enough. Support the stuff you sell and tell us the details of how it works without us digging through forums and depending on people like Paul to pass on the crumbs you flick in his direction.

I have not used windows 8.1 yet, but I suspect I will find irritating to not have a little icon on each file/folder as a visual indicator of whether it is marked for offline access (something like the dropbox sync marker).

But all in all, this seems like a great feature that will solve a big hassle in modern day computing.

Although I love this for personal use, it is speed bump for Enterprise adoption. No company wants corporate data being placed on private SkyDrive folders. I know there are tools to manage this, but it all takes time to learn and implement.

I really want to accelerate the deployment of windows 8 on mobile devices, but need the bandwidth to get this right.

Any idea if they're looking into encryption with user-defined keys? I like the idea of moving a lot of my stuff to the cloud, but not without encryption that only I control. I've spent a lot of time going paperless, so I have tons of financial and personal info in files now that I'm not willing to trust it to anyone but myself. I don't even trust the supposed 'zero-knowledge' cloud providers since none I'm aware of has been validated by outside parties.

I'm currently evaluating a couple of options, but it appears the 8.1 integration just wouldn't work with them. Of course I'm still on Win7 on my PCs and may stay there... I'm just hoping 8.1+Start8 will be good enough to move forward. I really don't like the Metro stuff, though.

The main problem for me with SkyDrive on 8.1 is that you have to sign in with a Microsoft Account. I use a local account and with Windows 8 i manually logged in to SkyDrive with my own Personal and Work Microsoft Accounts as and when i needed them.

In 8.1 i would need to change my pc account to be one of my Microsoft Accounts and setup another user with the Other and switch user each time to access it, unless i use the Web Interface which is not ideal for me.

It is still on two of my PC's that had it installed on Windows 8; but on two where it was un-installed it is no longer available. I can't reinstall it because it is no longer in my Windows Store Account?

Great Post,,, I have some question though. If I have multiple PC's using the same account, PC 1 and PC 2. If I add a picture on PC 1, it will be stored on SkyDrive,a and if chosen also on local drive for off-line use. When I log on to PC 2 the file will be available on SkyDrive also and also on local drive, as I store to offline on this PC as well. My concern is if PC 1 crash for some reason and I have to reinstall, also deleting available files, will it then also delete the file on SkyDrive, and as such subsequently delete it on PC 2, or will it re-download to PC 1 as the file is on SkyDrive.

So I guess my issue is that I am trying to fugure out when files get's deleted and when files get's backed-up